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Michael Phelps starts his quest for a record eight medals
THE OLYMPICS | SPORTS | Section D
ANIMATED, IT IS
A primer on ‘Clone Wars’
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SUNDAY
August 10, 2008
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Team motivation comes off the field.
Tide takes it to classroom to learn decision-making.
Section C
Help for soldiers
returning home
LOCAL NEWS
|
Comedian,
actor dead
at 50 | 2A
Bernie
Mac
Page 11A
UAB
Health
goal is
top 10
Bronner
plan adds
buyback
provision
CEO aims for
nation’s top tier
By ANNA VELASCO
Commissioners dismiss
RSA’s same-price offer
News staff writer
By RUSSELL HUBBARD
News staff writer
Alabama pension chief David Bronner said
he is willing to sell Jefferson County’s sewer
system back to the government at no profit, after the Retirement Systems of Alabama earns a
fair return and gets the system financially fit
and out of debt.
The head of the state’s public employee
pension fund said he would give the county
the option of buying back the system after
seven years.
“They could have it back for the same price I
paid for it,” Bronner said. “Not a penny more.”
County Commission President Bettye Fine
Collins said she wouldn’t want the sewer system back if the RSA buys it.
“Why would we want it back?” Collins said.
“Who would want to repurchase the sewer system unless he wants to pump a lot of cash into
it?”
Collins favors a competing rescue plan from
New York investment bank Citigroup that calls
for refinancing the county’s debt and finding
new sources of revenue to cover the cost of
those bonds. She is among a majority of commissioners who have warned that a Chapter 9
bankruptcy filing would stigmatize the county.
See SEWER
Page 8A
‘State of war’ in Georgia
Scores of civilians were reportedly killed
in heavy fighting Saturday after Russia
launched airstrikes against the former
Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia.
Georgia’s Foreign Ministry said its country was “in a state of war” and accused
Russia of a “massive military aggression.”
A U.S. official condemned Russia as
fighting continued. 7A
American slain in Beijing
A Chinese man fatally stabbed an American man and wounded his wife before
leaping to his death from a landmark
13th century building in Beijing. The killing sent a pall over the Olympic Games
under way in the Chinese capital. 3A
NEWS STAFF/BERNARD TRONCALE
University of Alabama football players listen to Nesby Glasgow, a former professional
football player who is now an instructor at the Pacific Institute. Coach Nick Saban
employed the institute to teach sports psychology and off-field personal character.
By JON SOLOMON | News staff writer
“One, two, three!”
“We are a team that’s committed to excellence.
It’s represented in everything we do.”
“One, two, three!”
“Our defense is aggressive. We fly to the ball seeking always to
cause big plays on every down. We intimidate our opponents.”
“One, two, three!”
“Our offense is consistently on top of their game,
averaging 38 to 48 points a game.”
“One, two, three!”
“Our team is a family. We will look out for each other. We love one
another. Anything that attempts to tear us apart only makes us stronger.”
Linebacker Rolando McClain didn’t initially
understand why he and his University of Alabama
football teammates needed to say these affirmations, responding each time to the shouts of an
instructor. Twelve times this summer, the Alabama
football team sat through 30- to 45-minute classes
devoted to mental conditioning and character
development.
“At one point, I think everybody was like, ‘Why
did we do this?’” McClain said. “We didn’t really
see anything with it. We just knew we had to go to
the class and it was mandatory. But after going for
a couple weeks, we realized this can help us as a
team.”
As year two opens under Nick Saban, Alabama
is attempting to correct a string of off-the-field
problems and create better futures for its players
and the program. One way was to spend $39,000
for the Pacific Institute, a Seattle-based international company, to conduct development classes.
See CLASSES | Page 8A
VIDEO ONLINE
Watch video clips from the Pacific Institute class for University of Alabama football players on
al.com, the online home of The Birmingham News: videos.al.com/birmingham-news
Will Ferniany has a clear
mission when he takes over
next month as the head of
UAB Health System.
The system’s newly named
chief executive officer
aims to take
the University
of Alabama at
Birmingham
from its longstanding
ranking as
one of the
country’s top Will Ferniany
20 academic
medical cen- Set to become
ters into the the CEO of
UAB Health
top 10.
U A B h a s System next
had the goal month
of reaching
the top 10 in medical research
funding for some time. But
Ferniany said the objective is
broader than research. UAB
wants to be in the country’s
top tier for health care and
medical schools as well.
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